Episode 44: That Certain Summer (1972)

 Rupert Everett’s The Happy Prince portrays the final years of Oscar Wilde. After two years in prison, he is exiled to France. My guests and I discuss his messy relationships with friends and lovers. 

Dorian Gray is an immortal twink with a deadly secret. Oliver Parker’s film drains most of the queerness from Oscar Wilde’s novel. My guest and I examine what remains. Podcast favorite Colin Firth is back as the evil Lord Henry.

In Apartment Zero a neurotic cinema owner (Colin Firth) grows obsessed with his sketchy flat mate (Hart Bochner). My guest and I discuss the messy characters in this strange mix of erotic thriller and political allegory. This episode merits a trigger warning for a discussion of transphobia. 

In A Single Man, Colin Firth plays a professor grieving the loss of his lover. Julianne Moore and Nicholas Hoult play admirers who offer him a way forward. My guests and I debate the controversial changes filmmaker Tom Ford made to Christopher Isherwood's 1964 novel. This episode merits a trigger warning for discussions of self-harm. 

In Another Country a Russian spy recounts the bullying he endured at his English Boarding School. Writer Julian Mitchell’s story was inspired by the Cambridge Five, a group of British diplomats who gave military secrets to the Soviets during the Cold War. Rupert Everett and Colin Firth lead a terrific cast.

A gay professor learns there’s something fishy happening in his hometown. Cthulhu is a loose adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s The Shadow Over Innsmouth. The film understands that being LGBT can make even the most mundane of places feel dangerous.

A tutor fears his students are being hunted by evil spirits. Eloy de la Iglesia's Turn of the Screw gender swaps the protagonist of Henry James’ ghost story. Then cranks up the queer subtext. This episode comes with a trigger warning for discussions of sexual abuse. 

 Hal Holbrook and Martin Sheen play a gay couple living in San Francisco. When Hal’s teen son comes for a visit, Hal debates whether to come out to him. That Certain Summer was made for the ABC movie of the week in 1972. It frightened the censors but proved a success for the network. My guests and I give it a fresh look. 

In 1983 Harvey Fierstein’s Torch Song Trilogy won him Tony Awards for Best Actor and Best Play. In 1988 his performance was preserved on film. Fierstein plays Arnold, a New York drag queen who experiences love and loss as he builds himself a family. It was a pleasure to introduce this classic to my guest. 

To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar was a commercial hit in 1995. Patrick Swayze, Wesley Snipes and John Leguizamo play a trio of drag queens stranded in a small town. My guests and I ask: who is the protagonist and what is their journey?  This episode contains profanity. Trigger warning for discussions of transphobia and sexual assault.